Hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’

ABSTRACT

A seed of hybrid cucumber designated as ‘E23S.16382’ is disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’, to the plants of hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’, to methods for producing a hybrid plant, and to methods for producing other cucumber lines, cultivars or hybrids derived from the hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of plant breeding. Inparticular, this disclosure relates to a new and distinctive cucumber,Cucumis sativus, hybrid designated ‘E23S.16382’.

BACKGROUND

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a member of the family Cucurbitaceae. TheCucurbitaceae is a family of about 90 genera and 700 to 760 species,mostly of the tropics. The family includes melons, pumpkins, squashes,gourds, watermelon, loofah and many weeds. The genus Cucumis, to whichthe cucumber and several melons belong, includes about 70 species. Thecucumber is believed to be native to India or Southern Asia and has beencultivated there for about 3000 years. Cucumber is distinct from otherCucumis species in that it has seven pairs of chromosomes (2n=2×=14)whereas most others have twelve pairs or multiples of twelve. Cucumbershave a broad range of floral morphologies, from staminate, pistillate tohermaphrodite flowers, yielding several types of sex expression. Becausecucumbers are diclinous and their pollen adhere strongly to the sourceflower, pollen vectors or artificial pollination are usually requiredfor fertilization.

Cultivated forms of cucumber belong to the highly polymorphic speciesCucumis sativus L. that is grown for its edible fruit. As a crop,cucumbers are grown commercially wherever environmental conditionspermit the production of an economically viable yield. They can beharvested by hand or mechanically. Cucumbers that are grown for freshmarket, also called slicers, are generally hand harvested. Cucumbersthat are grown for processing, also called picklers, may be hand ormechanically harvested. Cucumbers are produced on trailing or climbingvines. On healthy plants there is a canopy of large, regular,three-lobed leaves in an alternate arrangement. Pickling cucumbers grownin the United States usually have blunt and angular fruits. They arewhite-spined, and most possess a dark green or medium dark greenexterior color. Most slicers have slightly rounded ends and taperslightly from the stem to blossom end, although cylindrical-shapedfruits with blocky or even rounded ends are also available.

Some cucumber varieties have vegetative parthenocarpy, thus the plantsdo not require pollination or other stimulation to produce fruit.Parthenocarpy is considered the most cost-effective solution forimproving the fruit set rate when pollination or fertilization issuppressed by sub-optimum growth conditions, such as temperature or lackof natural pollen vectors, ensuring yields of varieties that aregynoecious, and avoid yield loss caused by seed development. Moreover,seedless cucumber (burpless cucumber) varieties produced byparthenocarpic cucumber varieties are preferred in certain markets,because they have a better texture, a pleasant taste, and are easier todigest for some people. Parthenocarpic cucumber varieties can produceseed if pollinated. Therefore, parthenocarpic varieties should bespatially isolated from other types of cucumbers if seedless fruit isdesired.

Cucumber is an important and valuable field crop. Thus, there is acontinued need for new hybrid cucumbers that are stable, high yieldingand agronomically sound. There is a need for improved cucumbers withdesirable fruit characteristics including external appearance. Further,there is a need for improved characteristics related to optimum plantdevelopment, such as resistance against common diseases and pests, orany other biotic or abiotic stress factors. In addition, differentregions have different preferences in fruit characteristics anddifferent regions have different biotic or abiotic stress challenges.Therefore, there is a need for cucumber varieties suitable for differentcultivation areas and methods.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In order to meet these needs, the present disclosure is directed toimproved hybrid cucumbers.

In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a hybrid cucumber,Cucumis sativus, seed designated as ‘E23S.16382’ having NCIMB AccessionNumber 43885. In an embodiment of this aspect, the present disclosure isdirected to a Cucumis sativus cucumber plant and parts isolatedtherefrom produced by growing ‘E23S.16382’ cucumber seed. In anotherembodiment of this aspect, the present disclosure is directed to aCucumis sativus plant and parts isolated therefrom having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of a Cucumis sativusplant produced by growing ‘E23S.16382’ cucumber seed having NCIMBAccession Number 43885.

Cucumber plant parts include cucumber leaves, ovules, pollen, seeds,cucumber fruits, parts of cucumber fruits, flowers, cells, and the like.In another embodiment, the present disclosure is further directed tocucumber leaves, ovules, pollen, seeds, cucumber fruits, parts ofcucumber fruits, and/or flowers isolated from ‘E23S.16382’ cucumberplants. In certain embodiments, the present disclosure is furtherdirected to pollen or ovules isolated from ‘E23S.16382’ cucumber plants.In another embodiment, the present disclosure is further directed toprotoplasts produced from ‘E23S.16382’ cucumber plants. In anotherembodiment, the present disclosure is further directed to tissue cultureof ‘E23S.16382’ cucumber plants, and to cucumber plants regenerated fromthe tissue culture, where the plant has all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of ‘E23S.16382’ cucumber. In certainembodiments, tissue culture of ‘E23S.16382’ cucumber plants is producedfrom a plant part selected from leaf, anther, pistil, stem, petiole,root, root tip, fruit, seed, flower, cotyledon, hypocotyl, embryo andmeristematic cell.

In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method ofmaking hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’, said method including selectingseeds from the cross of one ‘E23S.16382’ plant with another ‘E23S.16382’plant, a sample of ‘E23S.16382’ cucumber seed having been depositedunder NCIMB Accession Number 43885.

In a further aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method ofproducing a seed of a ‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber plant, including:crossing a hybrid cucumber designated as ‘E23S.16382’, representativesample of seed having been deposited under NCIMB Accession Number 43885,with itself or a second cucumber plant; whereby seed of a‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber plant forms. In another embodiment of thisaspect, the method further includes (b) crossing a plant grown from‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber seed with itself or a second cucumberplant to yield additional ‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber seed; (c)growing the additional ‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber seed of step (b) toyield additional ‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber plants; and (d) repeatingthe crossing and growing of steps (b) and (c) for an additional 3-10generations to generate further ‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber plants.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method ofvegetatively propagating a plant of hybrid cucumber variety‘E23S.16382’, the method including the steps of: (a) collecting tissuecapable of being propagated from a plant of hybrid cucumber variety‘E23S.16382’, representative seed of said hybrid cucumber variety havingbeen deposited under NCIMB Accession Number 43885; and (b) producing arooted plant from said tissue. In another embodiment, the presentdisclosure is further directed to cucumber plants, plant parts and seedsproduced by the cucumber plants where the cucumber plants are producedby any of the preceding methods of the disclosure.

According to the disclosure, there is provided a hybrid cucumber plantdesignated ‘E23S.16382’. This disclosure thus relates to the seeds ofhybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ and to the plants of cucumber ‘E23S.16382’.This disclosure also relates to methods for producing other cucumbercultivars or hybrids derived from hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ and tothe cucumber cultivars and hybrids derived by the use of those methods.

In another embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to single geneconverted plants of hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’. The single transferredgene may preferably be a dominant or recessive allele. Preferably, thesingle transferred gene will confer such trait as sex determination,herbicide resistance, insect resistance, resistance for bacterial,fungal, or viral disease, improved harvest characteristics, enhancednutritional quality, or improved agronomic quality. The single gene maybe a naturally occurring cucumber gene or a transgene introduced throughgenetic engineering techniques.

In another embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to methods fordeveloping cucumber plants in a cucumber plant breeding program usingplant breeding techniques including recurrent selection, backcrossing,pedigree breeding, restriction fragment length polymorphism enhancedselection, genetic marker enhanced selection, and transformation. Markerloci such as restriction fragment polymorphisms or random amplified DNAhave been published for many years and may be used for selection (See,Pierce et al., HortScience (1990) 25:605-615; Wehner, T., CucurbitGenetics Cooperative Report, (1997) 20: 66-88; and Kennard et al.,Theoretical Applied Genetics (1994) 89:217-224). Seeds, cucumber plants,and parts thereof produced by such breeding methods are also part of thedisclosure.

In additional embodiments, the present disclosure is directed tocucumber seeds resulting from methods of making a cucumber variety ofthe present disclosure. In additional embodiments, the presentdisclosure is directed to cucumber plants, and parts thereof, obtainedfrom growing the seeds of the present disclosure. In additionalembodiments, the present disclosure is directed to cucumber plants, andparts thereof, having all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the cucumber plants of the present disclosure. Inadditional embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to cucumbertissue culture, obtained from the plants of the present disclosure. Infurther embodiments, the tissue culture of the present disclosure isproduced from a plant part selected from the group consisting of leaf,anther, pistil, stem, petiole, root, root tip, fruit, seed, flower,cotyledon, hypocotyl, embryo, and meristematic cell.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above,further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference bystudy of the following descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed incolor. Copies of this patent or patent application publication withcolor drawings will be provided by the office upon request and paymentof the necessary fee.

FIG. 1 shows plants with fruit of hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirableplant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definitionof problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishmentof program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives.The next step is selection of germplasm that possess the traits to meetthe program goals. The selected germplasm is crossed in order torecombine the desired traits and through selection varieties or parentlines are developed. The goal is to combine in a single variety orhybrid an improved combination of desirable traits from the parentalgermplasm. These important traits may include higher yield, fieldperformance, fruit and agronomic quality such as fruit shape and length,resistance to diseases and insects, and tolerance to drought and heat.

Choice of breeding or selection methods can depend on the mode of plantreproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and thetype of cultivar used commercially (e.g., F₁ hybrid cultivar, purelinecultivar, etc.). For highly heritable traits, a choice of superiorindividual plants evaluated at a single location will be effective,whereas for traits with low heritability, selection should be based onmean values obtained from replicated evaluations of families of relatedplants. Popular selection methods commonly include pedigree selection,modified pedigree selection, mass selection, and recurrent selection.

The complexity of inheritance influences choice of the breeding method.Backcross breeding is used to transfer one or a few favorable genes fora highly heritable trait into a desirable cultivar. This approach hasbeen used extensively for breeding disease-resistant varieties. Variousrecurrent selection techniques are used to improve quantitativelyinherited traits controlled by numerous genes. The use of recurrentselection in self-pollinating crops depends on the ease of pollination,the frequency of successful hybrids from each pollination, and thenumber of hybrid offspring from each successful cross.

Each breeding program may include a periodic, objective evaluation ofthe efficiency of the breeding procedure. Evaluation criteria varydepending on the goal and objectives, and can include gain fromselection per year based on comparisons to an appropriate standard,overall value of the advanced breeding lines, and number of successfulcultivars produced per unit of input (e.g., per year, per dollarexpended, etc.).

Promising advanced breeding lines are thoroughly tested and compared toappropriate standards in environments representative of the commercialtarget area(s) for at least three years. The best lines can then becandidates for new commercial cultivars. Those still deficient in a fewtraits may be used as parents to produce new populations for furtherselection. These processes, which lead to the final step of marketingand distribution, may take from ten to twenty years from the time thefirst cross or selection is made.

One goal of cucumber plant breeding is to develop new, unique, andgenetically superior cucumber cultivars and hybrids. A breeder caninitially select and cross two or more parental lines, followed byrepeated selfing and selection, producing many new genetic combinations.A plant breeder can then select which germplasms to advance to the nextgeneration. These germplasms may then be grown under differentgeographical, climatic, and soil conditions, and further selections canbe made during, and at the end of, the growing season.

The development of commercial cucumber cultivars thus requires thedevelopment of cucumber parental lines, the crossing of these lines, andthe evaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selectionbreeding methods may be used to develop cultivars from breedingpopulations. Breeding programs can be used to combine desirable traitsfrom two or more varieties or various broad-based sources into breedingpools from which lines are developed by selfing and selection of desiredphenotypes. The new lines are crossed with other lines and the hybridsfrom these crosses are evaluated to determine which have commercialpotential.

Pedigree breeding is generally used for the improvement ofself-pollinating crops or inbred lines of cross-pollinating crops. Twoparents which possess favorable, complementary traits are crossed toproduce an F₁. An F₂ population is produced by selfing one or severalF₁s or by intercrossing two F₁s (sib mating). Selection of the bestindividuals is usually begun in the F₂ population; then, beginning inthe F₃, the best individuals in the best families are selected.Replicated testing of families, or hybrid combinations involvingindividuals of these families, often follows in the F₄ generation toimprove the effectiveness of selection for traits with low heritability.At an advanced stage of inbreeding (i.e., F₆ and F₇), the best lines ormixtures of phenotypically similar lines are tested for potentialrelease as new varieties.

Mass and recurrent selections can be used to improve populations ofeither self- or cross-pollinating crops. A genetically variablepopulation of heterozygous individuals is either identified or createdby intercrossing several different parents. The best plants are selectedbased on individual superiority, outstanding progeny, or excellentcombining ability. The selected plants are intercrossed to produce a newpopulation in which further cycles of selection are continued.

Backcross breeding may be been used to transfer genes for a simplyinherited, highly heritable trait into a desirable homozygous cultivaror line that is the recurrent parent. The source of the trait to betransferred is called the donor parent. The resulting plant is expectedto have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., cultivar) and thedesirable trait transferred from the donor parent. After the initialcross, individuals possessing the phenotype of the donor parent areselected and repeatedly crossed (backcrossed) to the recurrent parent.The resulting plant is expected to have the attributes of the recurrentparent (e.g., cultivar) and the desirable trait transferred from thedonor parent.

The single-seed descent procedure in the strict sense refers to plantinga segregating population, harvesting a sample of one seed per plant, andusing the one-seed sample to plant the next generation. When thepopulation has been advanced from the F₂ to the desired level ofinbreeding, the plants from which lines are derived will each trace todifferent F₂ individuals. The number of plants in a population declineseach generation due to failure of some seeds to germinate or some plantsto produce at least one seed. As a result, not all of the F₂ plantsoriginally sampled in the population will be represented by a progenywhen generation advance is completed.

In addition to phenotypic observations, the genotype of a plant can alsobe examined. There are many laboratory-based techniques known in the artthat are available for the analysis, comparison and characterization ofplant genotype. Such techniques include, without limitation, IsozymeElectrophoresis, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), Arbitrarily PrimedPolymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), DNA Amplification Fingerprinting(DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs), AmplifiedFragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs), Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs,which are also referred to as Microsatellites), Fluorescently TaggedInter-simple Sequence Repeats (ISSRs), Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms(SNPs), High Resolution Melt (HRM), Genotyping by Sequencing (GbS), andNext-generation Sequencing (NGS).

Molecular markers can also be used during the breeding process for theselection of qualitative traits. For example, markers closely linked toalleles or markers containing sequences within the actual alleles ofinterest can be used to select plants that contain the alleles ofinterest during a backcrossing breeding program. The markers can also beused to select toward the genome of the recurrent parent and against themarkers of the donor parent. This procedure attempts to minimize theamount of genome from the donor parent that remains in the selectedplants. It can also be used to reduce the number of crosses back to therecurrent parent needed in a backcrossing program. The use of molecularmarkers in the selection process is often called genetic marker enhancedselection or marker-assisted selection. Molecular markers may also beused to identify and exclude certain sources of germplasm as parentalvarieties or ancestors of a plant by providing a means of trackinggenetic profiles through crosses.

Mutation breeding may also be used to introduce new traits into cucumbervarieties. Mutations that occur spontaneously or are artificiallyinduced can be useful sources of variability for a plant breeder. Thegoal of artificial mutagenesis is to increase the rate of mutation for adesired characteristic. Mutation rates can be increased by manydifferent means including temperature, long-term seed storage, tissueculture conditions, radiation (such as X-rays, Gamma rays, neutrons,Beta radiation, or ultraviolet radiation), chemical mutagens (such asbase analogs like 5-bromo-uracil), antibiotics, alkylating agents (suchas sulfur mustards, nitrogen mustards, epoxides, ethyleneamines,sulfates, sulfonates, sulfones, or lactones), azide, hydroxylamine,nitrous acid or acridines. Once a desired trait is observed throughmutagenesis the trait may then be incorporated into existing germplasmby traditional breeding techniques. Details of mutation breeding can befound in Principles of Cultivar Development by Fehr, MacmillanPublishing Company, 1993.

The production of double haploids can also be used for the developmentof homozygous varieties in a breeding program. Double haploids areproduced by the doubling of a set of chromosomes from a heterozygousplant to produce a completely homozygous individual. For example, seeWan et al., Theor. Appl. Genet., 77:889-892, 1989.

Additional non-limiting examples of breeding methods that may be usedinclude, without limitation, those found in Principles of PlantBreeding, John Wiley and Son, pp. 115-161, 1960; Allard, 1960; Simmonds,1979; Sneep et al., 1979; Fehr, 1987; Genetic Improvement of VegetableCrops, Pergamon, pp. 197-234, Tatlioglu, 1993.

Definitions

In the description that follows, a number of terms are used. In order toprovide a clear and consistent understanding of the specification andclaims, including the scope to be given such terms, the followingdefinitions are provided:

Allele. The allele is any of one or more alternative forms of a gene,all of which relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cell ororganism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding loci on apair of homologous chromosomes.

Androecious plant. A plant having staminate flowers only.

Backcrossing. Backcrossing is a process in which a breeder repeatedlycrosses hybrid progeny back to one of the parents, for example, a firstgeneration hybrid F₁ with one of the parental genotype of the F₁ hybrid.

Blossom end. The blossom end is the distal end of the fruit (the “far”end as measured from the base of the plant) where the flower blossom islocated. The other end of a fruit is the stem end.

Blossom scar. The blossom scar is the small mark left on the distal endof the fruit after the flower falls off.

Blunt ends. Blunt ends are ends of the cucumber fruits that are nottapered or rounded.

Covered cultivation. Any type of cultivation where the plants are notexposed to direct sunlight. The covering includes but is not limited togreenhouses, glasshouses, nethouses, plastic houses and tunnels.

Essentially all the physiological and morphological characteristics. Aplant having essentially all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics means a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent, except for the characteristicsderived from the converted gene.

Gene. As used herein, “gene” refers to a segment of nucleic acid. A genecan be introduced into a genome of a species, whether from a differentspecies or from the same species, using transformation or variousbreeding methods.

Gynoecious plant. A plant having almost exclusively pistillate flowers.

Intermediate resistant or Intermediate resistance. Intermediateresistant refers to plant varieties that restrict the growth anddevelopment of the specified pest or pathogen, but may exhibit a greaterrange of symptoms or damage compared to highly resistant varieties.Intermediate resistant plant varieties will still show less severesymptoms or damage than susceptible plant varieties when grown undersimilar environmental conditions and/or pest or pathogen pressure.

Indeterminate Vine or Indeterminate Growth. Refers to apical meristemproducing an unrestricted number of lateral organs; characteristic ofvegetative apical meristems. (Anatomy of Seed Plants, 2nd Edition, 1977,John Wiley and Sons, page 513). The main stem of the plant continues togrow as long as the plant stays healthy, as opposed to a determinateplant, which at some point in its life cycle will stop growing longer.

Monoecious plant. A plant having staminate and pistillate flowersapproximately equally present on the same plant.

Open habit. A plant with an “open habit” means a plant with small tomedium sized leaves and reduced vigor of side shoots.

Parthenocarpic. “Parthenocarpic” refers to the ability of fruit todevelop without pollination or fertilization. The fruit are thereforeseedless when not pollinated, but can produce seeds if pollinated.

Propagate. To “propagate” a plant means to reproduce the plant by meansincluding, but not limited to, seeds, cuttings, divisions, tissueculture, embryo culture or other in vitro method.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL). Quantitative trait loci refer to geneticloci that control to some degree numerically representable traits thatare usually continuously distributed.

Regeneration. Regeneration refers to the development of a plant fromtissue culture.

Single gene converted. Single gene converted or conversion plant refersto plants which are developed by a plant breeding technique calledbackcrossing wherein essentially all of the desired morphological andphysiological characteristics of an inbred are recovered in addition tothe single gene transferred into the inbred via the backcrossingtechnique, genetic engineering or mutation.

Tip star: Tip star refers to a color difference, and is a yellow starformed at the end of the cucumber fruit.

Vegetative propagation. Refers to taking part of a plant and allowingthat plant part to form roots where plant part is defined as leaf,pollen, embryo, cotyledon, hypocotyl, meristematic cell, root, root tip,pistil, anther, flower, shoot tip, shoot, stem, fruit and petiole.

Overview of the Hybrid ‘E23S.16382’

Hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ is a American slicer type cucumber that hasdark green skin color, nearly no warts on the fruit, and no tip star onthe fruit. Hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ has a growing season thatincludes spring and autumn and is suitable for staked cultivation ingreenhouses in areas such as Mexico. Hybrid cucumber cultivar‘E23S.16382’ is intermediate resistant to Cucumber vein yellowing virus(CVYV); moderately resistant to Cucumis mosaic virus (CMV) and Powderymildew (Podosphaera xanthii; Px); and susceptible to Cucumber scab andgummosis (Cladosporium cucumerinum; Ccu), Corynespora blight and targetspot (Corynespora cassiicola; Cca), Downy mildew (Pseudoperonosporacubensis, Pcu), Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), and Cucurbit yellowstunting disorder virus (CYSDV). FIG. 1 depicts plants with fruit ofhybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’.

Hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ has shown uniformity and stability for thetraits, within the limits of environmental influence for the traits.Hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ has been increased with continuedobservation for uniformity. No variant traits have been observed or areexpected in ‘E23S.16382’.

Objective Description of the Hybrid ‘E23S.16382’

The information presented in this section was determined in trialexperiments in accordance with official Dutch plant variety registrationauthorities (Naktuinbouw). The terminology and descriptors used by theNaktuinbouw, and accordingly in this section, are in line with thedescriptors of the “UPOV Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests forDistinctness, Uniformity, and Stability”, or the “Test Guidelines” forCucumis sativus. The “Test Guidelines” indicate reference varieties forthe descriptors or characteristics that are included in the list. Theterminology and descriptors used in these tables are in line with theofficial terminology as of the filing date, and are thus clear for aperson skilled in the art.

Hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ has the following morphologic and othercharacteristics:

Fruit type: American slicer

Main usage: Fresh market

Growing condition:

-   -   Type of culture: Greenhouse, staked    -   Growing region: Mexico    -   Growing season: Spring and autumn

Plant:

-   -   Vigor: Strong (vigorous growth and lateral development)    -   Time of development of female flowers (80% of the plant with at        least one female flower): Medium    -   Sex expression: Gynoecious (almost exclusively female flowers)    -   Number of female flowers per node: Predominantly one    -   Parthenocarpy: Present

Cotyledon

-   -   Bitterness: Absent

Leaf blade:

-   -   Length: Medium    -   Intensity of green color: Dark

Ovary:

-   -   Color of vestiture: White

Fruit:

-   -   Length: ±22 cm (fruits on main stem)    -   Shape of stem end: Obtuse    -   Neck: Absent    -   Ground color of skin at market stage: Green    -   Intensity of ground color of skin at market stage: Dark    -   Creasing: Present    -   Degree of creasing: Very weak    -   Type of vestiture: Prickles only    -   Length of stripes: Absent or very short    -   Dots: Absent    -   Tip star: Absent    -   Fruit warts: Nearly absent        Disease/Pest Resistance:    -   Cucumber scab and gummosis (Cladosporium cucumerinum; Ccu):        Susceptible    -   Cucumis mosaic virus (CMV): Moderately resistant    -   Powdery mildew (Podosphaera xanthii; Px): Moderately resistant    -   Corynespora blight and target spot (Corynespora cassiicola;        Cca): Susceptible    -   Cucumber vein yellowing virus (CVYV): Intermediate resistant    -   Downy mildew (Pseudoperonospora cubensis, Pcu): Susceptible    -   Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV): Susceptible    -   Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV): Susceptible        Comparison to Other Cucumber Variety

Table 1 below compares characteristics of hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’with the cucumber variety ‘Modan’ (unpatented). Column 1 lists thecharacteristics, column 2 shows the characteristics for hybrid cucumber‘E23S.16382’, and column 3 shows the characteristics for cucumbervariety ‘Modan’.

TABLE 1 Characteristic ‘E23S.16382’ ‘Modan’ Vigor Strong Medium Tip starAbsent Present Fruit warts Nearly absent Small

Further Embodiments

This disclosure also is directed to methods for producing a cucumberplant by crossing a first parent cucumber plant with a second parentcucumber plant wherein either the first or second parent cucumber plantis a hybrid cucumber plant of ‘E23S.16382’. Further, both first andsecond parent cucumber plants can come from the hybrid cucumber‘E23S.16382’. All plants produced using hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ asa parent are within the scope of this disclosure, including plantsderived from hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’. Plants derived from hybridcucumber ‘E23S.16382’ may be used, in certain embodiments, for thedevelopment of new cucumber varieties. By selecting plants having one ormore desirable traits, a plant derived from hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’is obtained which possesses some of the desirable traits of the hybridas well as potentially other selected traits.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with this disclosure, novelvarieties may be created by crossing hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’followed by multiple generations of breeding according to such wellknown methods. New varieties may be created by crossing with any secondplant. In selecting such a second plant to cross for the purpose ofdeveloping novel lines, it may be desired to choose those plants whicheither themselves exhibit one or more selected desirable characteristicsor which exhibit the desired characteristic(s) when in hybridcombination. Once initial crosses have been made, inbreeding andselection take place to produce new varieties. For development of auniform line, often five or more generations of selfing and selectionare involved.

It is preferred to breed for a combination of desirable plantcharacteristics and resistances to create a single variety or hybridcontaining an improved combination of desirable traits from the parentalgermplasm. The development of commercial cucumber hybrids relates to thedevelopment of cucumber parental lines, the crossing of these lines, andthe evaluation of the crosses. Hybrid varieties offer multipleadvantages, including a combination of desirable dominant and recessivetraits from a set of inbred parents. Pedigree breeding and recurrentselection breeding methods are used to develop cultivars from breedingpopulations. Breeding programs combine desirable traits from two or morevarieties or various broad-based sources into breeding pools from whichlines are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes. Thenew lines are crossed with other lines and the hybrids from thesecrosses are evaluated to determine which have the desirablecharacteristics.

As used herein, the term plant includes plant cells, plant protoplasts,plant cell tissue cultures from which cucumber plants can beregenerated, plant calli, plant clumps and plant cells that are intactin plants or parts of plants, such as embryos, pollen, ovules, flowers,leaves, stems, and the like.

Genetic Marker Profile Through SSR and First Generation Progeny

In addition to phenotypic observations, a plant can also be identifiedby its genotype. The genotype of a plant can be characterized through agenetic marker profile, which can identify plants of the same variety ora related variety or be used to determine or validate a pedigree.Genetic marker profiles can be obtained by techniques such asRestriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs), Randomly AmplifiedPolymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), Arbitrarily Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction(AP-PCR), DNA Amplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence CharacterizedAmplified Regions (SCARs), Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms(AFLPs), Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) which are also referred to asMicrosatellites, and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs). Forexample, see Cregan et al., “An Integrated Genetic Linkage Map of theSoybean Genome” Crop Science 39:1464-1490 (1999), and Berry et al.,“Assessing Probability of Ancestry Using Simple Sequence RepeatProfiles: Applications to Maize Inbred Lines and Soybean Varieties”Genetics 165:331-342 (2003).

Particular markers used for these purposes are not limited to anyparticular set of markers, but are envisioned to include any type ofmarker and marker profile, which provides a means of distinguishingvarieties.

The present disclosure includes a hybrid cucumber plant characterized bymolecular and physiological data obtained from the representative sampleof said variety deposited with the National Collection of Industrial,Food and Marine Bacteria Ltd. (NCIMB Ltd.).

Means of performing genetic marker profiles using SSR polymorphisms arewell known in the art. SSRs are genetic markers based on polymorphismsin repeated nucleotide sequences, such as microsatellites. A markersystem based on SSRs can be highly informative in linkage analysisrelative to other marker systems in that multiple alleles may bepresent. Another advantage of this type of marker is that, through useof flanking primers, detection of SSRs can be achieved, for example, bypolymerase chain reaction (PCR), thereby eliminating the need forlabor-intensive Southern hybridization. PCR detection is done by use oftwo oligonucleotide primers flanking the polymorphic segment ofrepetitive DNA. Repeated cycles of heat denaturation of the DNA followedby annealing of the primers to their complementary sequences at lowtemperatures, and extension of the annealed primers with DNA polymerase,include the major part of the methodology.

Following amplification, markers can be scored by electrophoresis of theamplification products. Scoring of marker genotype is based on the sizeof the amplified fragment, which may be measured by the number of basepairs of the fragment. While variation in the primer used or inlaboratory procedures can affect the reported fragment size, relativevalues should remain constant regardless of the specific primer orlaboratory used. When comparing varieties it is preferable if all SSRprofiles are performed in the same lab.

Single-Gene Conversions

When the terms cucumber plant, cultivar, hybrid or cucumber line areused in the context of the present disclosure, this also includes anysingle gene conversions of that line. The term “single gene convertedplant” as used herein refers to those cucumber plants which aredeveloped by a plant breeding technique called backcrossing whereinessentially all of the desired morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of a cultivar are recovered in addition to the singlegene transferred into the line via the backcrossing technique.Backcrossing methods can be used with the present disclosure to improveor introduce a characteristic into the line. The term “backcrossing” asused herein refers to the repeated crossing of a hybrid progeny back toone of the parental cucumber plants for that line, backcrossing 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or more times to the recurrent parent. The parentalcucumber plant which contributes the gene for the desired characteristicis termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers tothe fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental cucumber plant towhich the gene or genes from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred isknown as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol (Poehlman & Sleper, 1994; Fehr, 1987). In atypical backcross protocol, the original cultivar of interest (recurrentparent) is crossed to a second line (nonrecurrent parent) that carriesthe single gene of interest to be transferred. The resulting progenyfrom this cross are then crossed again to the recurrent parent and theprocess is repeated until a cucumber plant is obtained whereinessentially all of the desired morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the convertedplant, in addition to the single transferred gene from the nonrecurrentparent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalline. To accomplish this, a single gene of the recurrent cultivar ismodified or substituted with the desired gene from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphological,constitution of the original line. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross, one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable, agronomicallyimportant trait to the plant. The exact backcrossing protocol willdepend on the characteristic or trait being altered to determine anappropriate testing protocol. Although backcrossing methods aresimplified when the characteristic being transferred is a dominantallele, a recessive allele may also be transferred. In this instance itmay be necessary to introduce a test of the progeny to determine if thedesired characteristic has been successfully transferred.

Many single gene traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new line but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single gene traits may or may not betransgenic, examples of these traits include but are not limited to,male sterility, modified fatty acid metabolism, modified carbohydratemetabolism, herbicide resistance, resistance for bacterial, fungal, orviral disease, insect resistance, enhanced nutritional quality,industrial usage, yield stability and yield enhancement. These genes aregenerally inherited through the nucleus. Several of these single genetraits are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,777,196, 5,948,957 and5,969,212.

Tissue Culture

Further reproduction of the variety can occur by tissue culture andregeneration. Tissue culture of various tissues of cucumber andregeneration of plants therefrom is well known and widely published. Forexample, reference may be had to Teng et al., HortScience. 1992, 27:9,1030-1032 Teng et al., HortScience. 1993, 28: 6, 669-1671, Zhang etal., Journal of Genetics and Breeding. 1992, 46: 3, 287-290, Webb etal., Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture. 1994, 38: 1, 77-79, Curtis etal., Journal of Experimental Botany. 1994, 45: 279,1441-1449, Nagata etal., Journal for the American Society for Horticultural Science.2000,125: 6, 669-672, and Ibrahim et al., Plant Cell, Tissue and OrganCulture. (1992), 28(2): 139-145. It is clear from the literature thatthe state of the art is such that these methods of obtaining plants areroutinely used and have a very high rate of success. Thus, anotheraspect of this disclosure is to provide cells which upon growth anddifferentiation produce cucumber plants having the physiological andmorphological characteristics of hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’.

As used herein, the term “tissue culture” indicates a compositioncomprising isolated cells of the same or a different type or acollection of such cells organized into parts of a plant. Exemplarytypes of tissue cultures are protoplasts, calli, meristematic cells, andplant cells that can generate tissue culture that are intact in plantsor parts of plants, such as leaves, pollen, embryos, roots, root tips,anthers, pistils, flowers, seeds, petioles, and the like. Means forpreparing and maintaining plant tissue culture are well known in theart. By way of example, a tissue culture comprising organs has been usedto produce regenerated plants. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,959,185; 5,973,234 and5,977,445 describe certain techniques, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

Tissue culture of cucumber can be used for the in vitro regeneration ofcucumber plants. Tissues cultures of various tissues of cucumber andregeneration of plants therefrom are well-known and published. By way ofexample, tissue cultures, some comprising organs to be used to produceregenerated plants, have been described in Burza et al., Plant Breeding.1995,114: 4, 341-345, Cui Hongwen et al., Report Cucurbit GeneticsCooperative. 1999, 22, 5-7, Pellinen, Angewandte Botanik. 1997, 71:3/4,116-118, Kuijpers et al., Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture. 1996,46: 1, 81-83, Colijn-Hooymans et al., Plant Cell Tissue and OrganCulture. 1994, 39: 3, 211-217, Lou et al., HortScience. 1994, 29: 8,906-909, Tabei et al., Breeding Science. 1994, 44: 1, 47-51, Sarmanto etal., Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture 31:3 185-193 (1992), Raharjo etal., Reports Cucurbits Genetics Cooperative 15, 35-39 (1992),Garcia-Sobo et al., Reports Cucurbits Genetics Cooperative 15, 40-44(1992), Cade et al., Journal of the American Society for HorticulturalScience 115:4 691-696 (1990), Chee et al., HortScience 25:7, 792-793(1990), Kim et al., HortScience 24:4 702 (1989), and Punja et al., PlantCell Report 9:2 61-64 (1990). It should also be mentioned that theregeneration of the cucumber after induction of adventitious shoot budson calli derived from cotyledons has been described in Msikita et al.,Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative Reports, 11: 5-7 (1988) and Kim et al.,Plant Cell Tissue Organ Culture, 12: 67-74 (1988). Wehner et al.,HortScience 16: 759-760 (1981) had previously described the induction ofbuds on cotyledons. Cucumber plants may be regenerated by somaticembryogenesis. These somatic embryos developed either in cellsuspensions derived from calli developed from leaf explants (Chee etal., Plant Cell Report 7: 274-277 (1988)) or hypocotyls (Rajasekaran etal., Annals of Botany, 52: p. 417-420 (1983)) or directly on cotyledons(Cade et al., Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative Reports 11:3-4 (1988)) orleaf calli (Malepszy et al., Pflanzenphysiologie, 111: 273-276 (1983)).It is clear from the literature that the state of the art is such thatthese methods of obtaining plants are “conventional” in the sense thatthey are routinely used and have a very high rate of success. Thus,another aspect of this disclosure is to provide cells which upon growthand differentiation produce cucumber plants having the physiological andmorphological characteristics of hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’.

Additional Breeding Methods

The cultivar of the disclosure can also be used for transformation whereexogenous genes are introduced and expressed by the cultivar of thedisclosure. Genetic variants of ‘E23S.16382’ created either throughtraditional breeding methods or through transformation of hybridcucumber ‘E23S.16382’ by any of a number of protocols known to those ofskill in the art are intended to be within the scope of this disclosure.

Mutations for use in mutation breeding can be induced in plants by usingmutagenic chemicals such as ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS), byirradiation of plant material with gamma rays or fast neutrons, or byother means. The resulting nucleotide changes are random, but in a largecollection of mutagenized plants the mutations in a gene of interest canbe readily identified by using the TILLING (Targeting Induced LocalLesions IN Genomes) method (McCallum et al. (2000) Targeted screeningfor induced mutations. Nat. Biotechnol. 18, 455-457, and Henikoff et al.(2004) TILLING. Traditional mutagenesis meets functional genomics. PlantPhysiol. 135, 630-636). The principle of this method is based on the PCRamplification of the gene of interest from genomic DNA of a largecollection of mutagenized plants in the M2 generation. By DNA sequencingor by looking for point mutations using a single-strand specificnuclease, such as the CEL-I nuclease (Till et al. (2004) Mismatchcleavage by single-strand specific nucleases. Nucleic Acids Res. 32,2632-2641), the individual plants that have a mutation in the gene ofinterest are identified. By screening many plants, a large collection ofmutant alleles is obtained, each giving a different effect on geneexpression or enzyme activity. The gene expression or protein levels canfor example be tested by transcript analysis levels (e.g., by RT-PCR) orby quantification of protein levels with antibodies. Plants with thedesired reduced gene expression or reduced protein expression are thenback-crossed or crossed to other breeding lines to transfer only thedesired new allele into the background of the crop wanted.

Genes of interest for use in breeding may also be edited using geneediting techniques including transcription activator-like effectornuclease (TALEN) gene editing techniques, clustered RegularlyInterspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR/Cas9) gene editingtechniques, and/or zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN) gene editing techniques.For this, transgenic plants are generated expressing one or moreconstructs targeting the gene of interest. These constructs may include,without limitation, an anti-sense construct, an optimized small-RNAconstruct, an inverted repeat construct, a targeting construct, a guideRNA construct, a construct encoding a targeting protein, and/or acombined sense-anti-sense construct, and may work in conjunction with anuclease, an endonuclease, and/or an enzyme, so as to downregulate theexpression of a gene of interest.

One of ordinary skill in the art of plant breeding would know how toevaluate the traits of two plant varieties to determine if there is nosignificant difference between the two traits expressed by thosevarieties. For example, see Fehr and Walt, Principles of CultivarDevelopment, p. 261-286 (1987). Thus the disclosure includes hybridcucumber ‘E23S.16382’ progeny cucumber plants comprising a combinationof at least two ‘E23S.16382’ traits selected from the group consistingof those listed in Table 1 or the ‘E23S.16382’ combination of traitslisted in the Summary of the Disclosure, so that said progeny cucumberplant is not significantly different for said traits than cucumber‘E23S.16382’ as determined at the 5% significance level when grown inthe same environmental conditions and/or may be characterized by percentsimilarity or identity to hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ as determined bySSR markers. Using techniques described herein, molecular markers may beused to identify said progeny plant as a hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’progeny plant. Mean trait values may be used to determine whether traitdifferences are significant, and preferably the traits are measured onplants grown under the same environmental conditions. Once such avariety is developed its value is substantial since it is important toadvance the germplasm base as a whole in order to maintain or improvetraits such as yield, disease resistance, pest resistance, and plantperformance in extreme environmental conditions.

As used herein, the term “plant” includes plant cells, plantprotoplasts, plant cell tissue cultures from which cucumber plants canbe regenerated, plant calli, plant clumps and plant cells that areintact in plants or parts of plants, such as leaves, pollen, embryos,cotyledons, hypocotyl, roots, root tips, anthers, pistils, flowers,seeds, stems and the like.

The use of the terms “a,” “an,” and “the,” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the disclosure (especially in the context of thefollowing claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and theplural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted bycontext. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing”are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, butnot limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of valuesherein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referringindividually to each separate value falling within the range, unlessotherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated intothe specification as if it were individually recited herein. Forexample, if the range 10-15 is disclosed, then 11, 12, 13, and 14 arealso disclosed. All methods described herein can be performed in anysuitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearlycontradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplarylanguage (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to betterilluminate the disclosure and does not pose a limitation on the scope ofthe disclosure unless otherwise claimed. No language in thespecification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed elementas essential to the practice of the disclosure.

While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussedabove, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications,permutations, additions, and sub-combinations thereof. It is thereforeintended that the following appended claims and claims hereafterintroduced are interpreted to include all such modifications,permutations, additions, and sub-combinations as are within their truespirit and scope.

Deposit Information

A deposit of the hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ is maintained by EnzaZaden USA, Inc., having an address at 7 Harris Place, Salinas,California 93901, United States. Access to this deposit will beavailable during the pendency of this application to persons determinedby the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks to be entitled theretounder 37 C.F.R. § 1.14 and 35 U.S.C. § 122. Upon allowance of any claimsin this application, all restrictions on the availability to the publicof the variety will be irrevocably removed by affording access to adeposit of at least 625 seeds of the same variety with the NationalCollection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria Ltd. (NCIMB Ltd),Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB21 9YA,United Kingdom.

At least 625 seeds of hybrid cucumber ‘E23S.16382’ were deposited onNov. 3, 2021 according to the Budapest Treaty in the National Collectionof Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria Ltd (NCIMB Ltd), FergusonBuilding, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB21 9YA, UnitedKingdom. The deposit has been assigned NCIMB number 43885. Access tothis deposit will be available during the pendency of this applicationto persons determined by the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks tobe entitled thereto under 37 C.F.R. § 1.14 and 35 U.S.C. § 122. Uponallowance of any claims in this application, all restrictions on theavailability to the public of the variety will be irrevocably removed.

The deposit will be maintained in the NCIMB depository, which is apublic depository, for a period of at least 30 years, or at least 5years after the most recent request for a sample of the deposit, or forthe effective life of the patent, whichever is longer, and will bereplaced if a deposit becomes nonviable during that period.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A seed of hybrid cucumber designated as‘E23S.16382’, representative sample of seed having been deposited underNCIMB Accession Number
 43885. 2. A cucumber plant produced by growingthe seed of claim
 1. 3. A plant part from the plant of claim 2, whereinsaid part is a leaf, an ovule, a pollen grain, a fruit, a cell, or aportion thereof.
 4. The plant part of claim 3, wherein said part is afruit.
 5. A cucumber plant having all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the cucumber plant of claim
 2. 6. Aplant part from the plant of claim 5, wherein said part is a leaf, anovule, a pollen grain, a fruit, a cell, or a portion thereof.
 7. Theplant part of claim 6, wherein said part is a fruit.
 8. A pollen grainor an ovule of the plant of claim
 2. 9. A protoplast produced from theplant of claim
 2. 10. A tissue culture of the plant of claim
 2. 11. Thetissue culture of claim 10, wherein said tissue culture is produced froma plant part selected from the group consisting of leaf, anther, pistil,stem, petiole, root, root tip, fruit, flower, cotyledon, hypocotyl,embryo and meristematic cell.
 12. A cucumber plant regenerated from thetissue culture of claim 11, wherein the plant has all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a cucumber plantproduced by growing hybrid cucumber seed designated as ‘E23S.16382’,representative sample of seed having been deposited under NCIMBAccession Number
 43885. 13. A method of producing a seed of a‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber plant, comprising: a) crossing a hybridcucumber designated as ‘E23S.16382’, representative sample of seedhaving been deposited under NCIMB Accession Number 43885, with itself ora second cucumber plant; whereby seed of a ‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumberplant forms.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: b) crossinga plant grown from ‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber seed with itself or asecond cucumber plant to yield additional ‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumberseed; c) growing the additional ‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber seed ofstep (b) to yield additional ‘E23S.16382’-derived cucumber plants; andd) repeating the crossing and growing of steps (b) and (c) for anadditional 3-10 generations to generate further ‘E23S.16382’-derivedcucumber plants.
 15. A method of vegetatively propagating a plant ofhybrid cucumber variety ‘E23S.16382’, the method comprising the stepsof: a) collecting tissue capable of being propagated from a plant ofhybrid cucumber variety ‘E23S.16382’, representative seed of said hybridcucumber variety having been deposited under NCIMB Accession Number43885; and b) producing a rooted plant from said tissue.